PSALM 138:8: “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Lord, your faithful love endures forever; do not abandon the work of your hands.” CSB

OBSERVATION: Is my life filled with hope and purpose? Do I view each day as an opportunity to experience the wonderful blessings of God? If today was my last day on this earth, would I be ushered into eternity with the contentment of a life fulfilled?

IF WE STOP AND TAKE AN INVENTORY OF OUR LIFE RIGHT NOW, MOST OF US WOULD ADMIT WE HAVE NOT ACCOMPLISHED THE THINGS WE ENVISIONED FOR OUR LIFE.

Everyone wants to live their life with these hopes, aspirations, and attitudes. Yet, so many of us look at our life from the rear view mirror, lamenting over where we have been, and where we have failed to go. If we stop and take an inventory of our life right now, most of us would admit that we have not accomplished the things we envisioned for our life. What is the disconnect?

There is a difference between reaching for our own personal expectations and goals and discovering God’s creative purpose for our life. The difference is on the focus. One focuses upon what I want and asks the Lord to bless it. The other focuses on what God wants and asks for grace to fulfill it. God never promises to fulfill all of our dreams and desires. He promises to fulfill His purposes for our life.

A choice lies before me. I can struggle through life trying to find my own way, or I can surrender my life and discover God’s way. This is what Jesus was referring to when He said,

• “…If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” Matthew 16:24-26 CSB

THE CROSS CALLS US TO SURRENDER!

While the above verses deal with our eternal destiny, it is also speaks to how we live our life as a believer. The cross calls us to surrender. It is a call to surrender to Jesus as our Savior. It is also a call to surrender to Jesus as our Lord. If we simply live our life in Christ seeking our own purposes, we may gain the world, but we will never discover our true destiny in Christ. And, we will never experience the assurance and peace that comes from knowing we are in the center of God’s will.

OUR LIFE PURPOSE DOES NOT END WHEN WE DIE, BUT IT CONTINUES INTO ETERNITY!

When we make God’s purposes for our life the goal of our life, we enter into the promise of His faithfulness and presence. We live life with the assurance that the work that He has begun, He will also complete. We walk in the awareness that our life purpose does not end when we die, but it continues on into eternity! And, we are given the blessed assurance of His faithful love and His promised presence always being with us.

• “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Lord, your faithful love endures forever; do not abandon the work of your hands.”

WHETHER I LIVE OR DIE, IN CHRIST I FIND MY PURPOSE AND DESTINY!

What a comfort, what a joy, to know that the Lord is intimately involved in the details of my life. He delights in fulfilling the good purposes that He has created for me. His love sustains me in every situation. And, His presence, the gift of the Holy Spirit within, is the guarantee that He will never leave me nor forsake me. He will not abandon the work of His hands. Whether I live or die, in Christ I find my purpose and destiny!

Lord, help me to live each day surrendered to and seeking your good purposes for my life. Grant me the grace to lay down my life, take up my cross, and follow Jesus Christ. Let me live with the certainty that Your purposes for my life are sure, and they are eternal. It is not what I accomplish on this earth, it is what I become in my heart, and who I proclaim with my life. May I become and proclaim Your full purposes in Jesus Christ my Lord!

In Jesus Name!